1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to harvesters for and harvesting of crops that must be removed from the ground, more particularly, root crops such as beets.
2. Description of Related Art
Beet harvesters must be especially rugged and bulky in order to unearth sugarbeets and other root crops, with its attendant engagement with rocks and other obstacles along a typical beet harvesting path. Prior art beet harvester patents include U.S. Pat. No. 2,944,611 (Rollins), U.S. Pat. No. 3,010,522 (Oppel), U.S. Pat. No. 3,181,616 (Oppel), U.S. Pat. No. 4,116,279 (Kilburn), U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,973 (Schwitters), U.S. Pat. No. 4,184,550 (Ammermann), U.S. Pat. No. 4,226,566 (Maust), U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,471 (Peterson) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,956 (Glifberg). Prior art publications include those disclosing sugarbeet harvesters of Art's-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc., including “A Total Sugarbeet Harvesting System” brochure showing models of the 690 Series, the 692 Series and the 9420 Series, as well as a brochure entitled “698 Series Rear Wheel Harvester.” These patents and publications are specifically incorporated by reference hereinto.
Heretofore, these types of harvesters typically have been constructed with a view toward meeting a specific harvesting need and under specific harvesting conditions. Crops, including beets, must be harvested with the same row spacing as they are planted. Typically, they also must be harvested with a harvester having a number of rows which is a multiple of the number of rows of the planter that had been used. Heretofore, these needs usually had been addressed by having to choose between having multiple harvesters available for use or using a harvester under conditions for which it might not have been strictly designed. Root crop harvesters also have been limited by size constraints and root crop processing difficulties from achieving improved root crop cleaning along the root crop flow path of the harvester.
Illustrated in FIG. 6a is a problem which the present invention has recognized and addressed. This problem, typically associated with prior art beet harvesters, is that they require the beets to change direction laterally along the cleaning flow path. Such harvesters have an assembly 20 that directs beets downstream to a bed of cleaning rollers 22, but then the beets must “turn the corner” and follow along the length of the transversally-disposed rollers 22. In connection with the invention, it has been determined that having the beets turn the corner hinders the cleaning function of the harvester, for example because mud and beets tend to accumulate along the area that the flow direction changes. This in turn makes it more difficult for the rollers to rotate and clean the beets. Also, with harvesters of the type shown in FIG. 6a, typically all beets do not engage the cleaning rollers 22 for the potential maximum length of travel, but for only a portion thereof.
Beet harvesters also are known to transfer harvested beets into position for collection using elevator type mechanisms. In essence, two basic structures are used. One is a so-called ferris wheel unit, and another is a scrubber chain unit. Traditionally, a beet harvester is configured with either a ferris wheel unit or a scrubber chain unit, and the user may not have the best unit for each harvesting situation. For example, it is generally understood that scrubber chain units are more aggressive than ferris wheel units and can be preferred over ferris wheel units in some situations. Some consider ferris wheel elevator units to operate in a more acceptable manner than a scrubber chain elevator for overall general harvesting situations. Flexibility in this regard could be beneficial by allowing the user to select the elevator type depending on field and weather conditions.
While a modular beet harvester was proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,916 (Haverdink, et al.), the design disclosed therein is plagued by a number of problems. For one, the proposed harvester has poor lateral balance because the elevator assembly is offset from the centerline. Also, the proposed harvester still requires the beets to turn the corner to travel from the cleaning rollers to the elevator assembly.
Accordingly, a general aspect and object of the present invention is to provide improved root crop harvesters suitable for harvesting beets and other in-ground crops.
Another aspect or object of the invention is to provide beet harvesters having modular design components.
Another aspect or object of the invention is to provide beet harvesters capable of simultaneously harvesting twelve rows of root crops.
Another aspect or object of the invention is to provide beet harvesters having continuous rearward flow from the transfer assembly to and into the elevator assembly.
Another aspect or object of this invention is to provide beet harvesters having a narrow-frame design and/or good maneuverability during use.
Another aspect or object of this invention is to provide a method of harvesting beets which more effectively cleans the beets by employing two cleaning roller beds that are oriented perpendicular to one another.
Another aspect or object of the invention is to provide beet harvesters having features such as an automatic adjustable rowfinder, heavy duty struts, and rugged paddle shaft assemblies.
Another aspect or object of the invention is to provide improved beet harvesters having multiple rollers that are freely adjustable and cushioned.
Another aspect or object of the invention is to provide improved beet harvesters having a header roller bed which assists in beet cleaning.
Another aspect or object of this invention is to provide beet harvesters having one or more points that utilize a controlled fall to clean the beets.
Another aspect or object of this invention is to provide beet harvesters having an easily-removable transfer assembly.
Another aspect or object of this invention is to provide beet harvesters having a transfer assembly that achieves some beet cleaning between a header and a grabroller assembly, which can include a manually-operated winch to quickly and easily remove the transfer assembly for cleaning and maintenance.
Another aspect or object of this invention is to provide beet harvesters with transverse rollers that combine with a transfer assembly to evenly distribute the beets onto a bed of grabrollers.
Another aspect or object of this invention is to provide beet harvesters having a cleaning bed with grabrollers oriented parallel to the rows and preferably including a single-point adjustment on front and back.
Another aspect or object of this invention is to provide beet harvesters which are more laterally balanced by having a rear-loading elevator, rather than a side-loading elevator.
Another aspect or object of this invention is to provide beet harvesters which can be fitted with either a ferris wheel elevator module or a scrubber chain elevator module.
Another aspect or object of this invention is to provide beet harvesters having an improved wraparound scrubber chain elevator assembly.
Another aspect or object of this invention is to provide beet harvesters having a pivoting tank conveyor which minimizes the beets' fall into the holding tank, thereby reducing damage to the beets.
Another aspect or object of this invention is to provide beet harvesters having a hydraulically controlled offloading conveyor which preferably has the capability of folding out of the way, behind the header for transport.
Another aspect or object of this invention is to provide beet harvesters having tires and axles which permit the use of only two carrier wheels on the harvester, thereby enhancing maneuverability and lessening undesirable soil compaction.
Another aspect or object of this invention is to provide beet harvesters that can operate in muddier conditions than prior art harvesters due to improved cleaning capabilities.
Another aspect or object of this invention is to provide beet harvesters having a self-contained hydraulic subsystem which delivers power to the elevator motor and other components.
Another aspect or object of this invention is to provide beet harvesters with gage wheels to prevent the lifting assembly from digging into the soil on one side or the other in uneven ground.
Other aspects, objects and advantages of the present invention, including the various features used in various combinations, will be understood from the following description according to preferred embodiments of the present invention, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which certain specific features are shown.